Saúde mental de estudantes universitários: fatores associados aos transtornos mentais comuns durante a vivência acadêmica

Abstract

The present dissertation proposes to analyze the factors associated with Common Mental Disorders in undergraduate university students on the campuses of the Federal University of Bahia located in the city of Salvador - BA, in the year 2021. Therefore, it is a quantitative research, cross-sectional, exploratory analytical type, carried out with female and male undergraduate students, aged 18 years or over, regularly enrolled in all shift courses: morning, afternoon, evening and full-time. Therefore, the dynamics of the investigation process for data collection consisted of the application of validated and self-administered questionnaires in a virtual environment: Socioeconomic- demographic Questionnaire (QSD), Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) and the Academic Experience Questionnaire in its reduced version (QVA-r). Data were submitted to quantitative analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences - SPSS software, version 20.0, for the Windows operating system. Thus, a descriptive analysis of the epidemiological profile of the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, the lifestyle of university students and the conditions of infrastructure, interpersonal relationships and the teaching-learning process of the aforementioned institution of higher education was carried out. The Prevalence Ratios of the dependent and independent variable and the respective 95% confidence intervals were also calculated. The independent sample t test for difference between means, Pearson's chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were applied, considering a significance level of 5% (p ≤ 0.05) for a statistically significant association. As a result, 509 undergraduates participated in this study, 367 (71.2%) female and 142 (27.9%) male, with a mean age of 24.06 years (SD = 6.566). Furthermore, there was a prevalence of suspected Common Mental Disorders (SRQ-20 score ≥ 7) of 78.6% of the sample, observed with a higher percentage in female students. The results also show the main statistically significant associated factors when related to suspicion of Common Mental Disorders: being female (p < 0.01), non-white (p = 0.02), single (p = 0.01), without support from the University in the face of adversity (p < 0.01) and who do not consider the University a welcoming environment (p < 0.01). In view of the above, the need for further investigations that complement and deepen the issues, problems and findings presented and discussed here is discussed. In addition, it points to the need for collective actions, both on the part of university managers and student entities, as well as institutional behaviors, mental health care strategies and intersectoral assistance that lead to the biopsychosocial well-being of students and the effectiveness in stimulating an institutional culture that values healthier, humane and solidary academic experiences in the university environment.